Bolasie's absence opens the door for the likes of Kevin Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu, bit-part players so far this season, to stake their claim but it seems likely Koeman will dip into the transfer market again in January.

"It is an opportunity for other players who maybe did not play a lot in the last few weeks and we know we need competition," said Koeman at Thursday's press conference.

"We need a big squad as it is a big month coming up with a lot of games and we need everyone at a good level.